The Lion King

Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands of Africa, where a lion, Mufasa, rules over all the other animals as King. King Mufasa has a newborn son, Simba who is soon taken on a tour of the Pride Lands, and taught about the “Circle of Life”, the fragile chain affecting all living things. This greatly angers Scar, Mufasa’s brother, who was next in line to the throne. Scar plots to kill King Mufasa and Simba and leads them to a gorge where Mufasa is soon thrown off a cliff by Scar and is killed by a herd of wildebeest. Simba is lead by Scar to believe that he is to blame for his father’s death & is told to run away. Scar then takes over as King of the Pride Lands. Several years later, with the help of his friends, Timon, Pumbaa and Nala, Simba returns to battle with Scar and win back the Pride Lands as the rightful King.

In The Lion King, a great deal of themes is explored using techniques which further help to create meaning. Power is a theme used throughout the film. This is shown mostly through Mufasa, who holds all power, Scar who is power-hungry and Simba, the future holder of power. King Mufasa a protagonist in the film, and uses his power and authority in a respectful way to lead the animals. Scar, the antagonist, however, seeks power and is willing to do anything to get it. He is not respected by many as he does not have much authority. “Oh Scar, it’s just you, we thought it was someone important like Mufasa, now that’s power!” Simba, the main protagonist, only has power as he is the future King. Those who do not know him, however, like the chameleon, do not take note of his authority and ignores him.
The film also explores the theme of hierarchy, by showing the traditional leaders (Mufasa, Sarabi & Rafiki) as wise and compassionate, protecting the welfare of the community. Those outside the traditional group of leadership however are shown as illegitimate and are essentially unfit to hold positions of...